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ACU research to explore veteran service sector

Identifying barriers to support providers is part of an Australian Catholic University research project aiming to explore the nation’s veteran service sector.

The university is collaborating with the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide on the mapping project designed to improve the Commission’s understanding of the nature of the veteran service sector.

Further, it will examine how effectively the sector meets the needs of current and former Australian Defence Force families.

ACU’s first Industry Professor Veterans and Their Families Andrew Condon is an advisor on the project that strengthens the university’s commitment to improving opportunities for transitioning veterans.

“The Royal Commission has shed light on how challenging that transition can be,” said Industry Professor Condon who served 27 years in the Australian Regular Army.

“Empowering veteran success has never been more important and it is both a great honour, and a binding responsibility, to contribute to a process that will lead to stronger and more accessible networks that support the lifetime wellbeing of veterans.”

ACU’s Veteran Life Research team is leading the project. The team is comprised of Dr Jacqueline Laughland-Booy, Dr Jonathan Smith, Associate Professor Duncan Cook and Dr Margaret Hutchison.

Industry Professor Condon is joined as a project advisor by Dr Zareh Ghazarian from Monash University.

The project will identify support services offered by government, commercial providers, not-for-profit organisations and charities that purport to have veterans and their families as beneficiaries.

Once the database has been built, the research team will explore the characteristics of the service providers, including what types of services are provided, where they are located, the evidence base which informs the service provision, service evaluation practices and barriers to veterans accessing the service.

ACU will consult with the Commission on key decisions that will impact on

the composition and utility of the database, such as the categorisation of services.